This invention relates to a vessel equipped with a manual pump used to suck up the liquid in the vessel and forcibly discharge the liquid from the vessel by pressing down the nozzle head or manipulating the lever, and relates in particular to the vessel equipped with a manual pump, which can be used in the upside-down position.
Among the vessels equipped with a manual pump of the type in which a lotion, a detergent, an insecticide, etc., contained in a vessel is discharged or sprayed by pressing down the nozzle head or manipulating the lever, the representative prior-art vessels usable in the upside-down position are described in the Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Publication No. 90-15264 and the Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 96-332423.
These prior-art vessels have a manual pump attached to the mouth of the vessel The vessels are also provided with a valve which can be linked with the cylinder of this manual pump and used in both of the upright and upside-down positions, wherein the valve has a casing (or a bypass) for an auxiliary valve (or a check valve) comprising a valve ball which serves as the check valve in the upright position. This auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) is provided with a slit (or a lateral, narrow hole) between the valve seat and a stopper which prevents the auxiliary valve (check valve) from coming off. An intake pipe (or a sucking pipe) is fitted to the lower end of the valve, and in addition, a vacuum control mechanism is disposed above the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) to prevent a negative pressure inside the vessel caused by a decrease in liquid volume.
When the vessel is used in its upright position, liquid is sucked up through the intake pipe (the sucking pipe) and discharged forcibly by manipulating the nozzle head or the lever. When the vessel is used in its upside-down position, liquid is sucked up through the slit in the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) in the open valve state and is discharged forcibly by the manipulation of the manual pump. In either case, a negative pressure inside the vessel caused by a decrease in liquid volume is prevented by taking in outside air through the vacuum control mechanism.
However, the aforementioned prior-art vessels had a problem in that, when they are used in the upside-down position, air taken in through the vacuum control mechanism rises in the liquid and is sucked up, along with the liquid, through the liquid intake slit into the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) located right above the vacuum control mechanism. Thus, air gets mixed with the liquid which is to be forcibly discharged by the manipulation of the manual pump, thereby making the liquid-discharging operation out of order.
The prior-art vessels had also another problem in that, when the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) is in a roughly horizontal position, the spherical check valve cannot roll on the inclined valve seat surface to sit on the valve seat. If the slit in the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) is exposed to air, the pump function area sucks up air through this slit, thus making the liquid-discharging operation out of order.
This invention his been made to solve these problems found in the aforementioned prior-art vessels. Technically, this invention is aimed at establishing a normal, smooth liquid-discharging operation by taking in outside air for the prevention of a negative pressure inside the vessel and at that time preventing air from entering the pump when the vessel is used in the upside-down position.
This invention is also aimed at making sure that the check valve inside the auxiliary-valve casing (bypass) sits on the valve seat securely ,without rolling out of the valve seat slope even when the vessel is used in the roughly horizontal position.
The means of carrying out the invention according to claim 1 comprises:
Having a vessel in which to contain a liquid;
Having a manual pump which is attached to the mouth of this vessel by way of an attaching cylinder and is used to suck up liquid through the sucking pipe and to discharge forcibly the liquid from the nozzle by the manual operation of the pump lever;
Having a cap unit which is attached to the lower portion of the attaching cylinder of this manual pump and is provided with a liquid-flowing conduit cylinder linked to the manual pump;
Having a change-over valve unit which is attached to the cap unit from downside and is composed of a conduit pipe portion linked to the conduit cylinder of the cap unit, a bypass pipe portion having liquid intake slits in the bypass pipe wall and having a closed upper end, and a base pipe portion at the bottom of this unit; with the liquid flow between the conduit pipe portion and the bypass pipe portion being cut off in the upright position of the vessel, and liquid being allowed to flow between these two portions in the upside-down position, by the action of a check valve provided inside the bypass pipe portion;
Setting up a vacuum control air channel to the vessel by taking in outside air through a spot on the cylinder in a state in which the piston of the manual pump has moved to the inside of the cylinder, passing air into the vacant space inside the attaching cylinder of the manual pump, and supplying the vessel with air at the rear of the cap unit; and
Attaching the change-over valve unit to the lower portion of the cap unit by tilting the valve unit forward and downward.
When the vessel is used in the upright position, the check valve inside the change-over valve unit cute off the liquid flow between the bypass pipe portion and the base pipe portion. After the liquid has been spouted out by manipulating the manual pump and pressure inside the cylinder has become negative due to the return of the piston, the liquid in the vessel is sucked up through the sucking pipe, the base pipe portion, and the conduit pipe portion of the change-over valve unit into the cylinder of the manual pump. At the same time, outside air is sucked up into the vessel through the vacuum control air channel to prevent the vessel from a negative pressure.
Since at that time, the flow between the bypass pipe portion and the base pipe portion is cut off by the check valve, the air taken in from outside never enters the base pipe portion through the bypass pipe portion, and therefore there is no fear that air gets mixed with liquid in the cylinder.
When the vessel is used in the upside-down position, the check valve of the change-over valve unit connects between the bypass pipe portion and the base pipe portion. After liquid has been spouted out by manipulating the manual pump and the pressure inside the vessel has become negative due to the return of the piston, the liquid in the vessel is sucked up through the liquid intake slits and the bypass pipe portion into the base pipe portion and is sent to the cylinder.
At that time, as liquid is sucked up into the cylinder, outside air is simultaneously taken into the vessel through the vacuum control air channel, and rises to the liquid surface in the form of bubbles at the rear of the cap unit.
Regarding the spot of air bubbles coming to surface, the change-over valve unit takes such a posture tilted forward and downward (or forward and upward in the upside-down position) that air goes away from the bypass pipe portion as the bubbles come up to the liquid surface. Therefore, the bubbling air from outside will never be sucked up into the bypass pipe portion through the liquid intake slits, and there is no fear that air gets mixed with liquid in the cylinder.
When the vessel is tilted toward the lying position due to a decrease in the liquid volume, the liquid intake slits of the bypass pipe portion is exposed to air although the lower end of the sucking pipe remains dipped in the liquid. Since, however, the bypass pipe portion is tilted forward and downward, the check valve takes its position on the valve seat, and thus, air will never be sucked up into the base pipe portion through the bypass pipe portion.
The invention according to claim 2 comprises the invention according to claim 1, wherein a connecting cylinder in a posture tilted forward and downward is disposed under the cap unit, is linked with the conduit cylinder, and is fitted around the upper portion of the conduit pipe portion of the change-over valve unit.
In the invention according to claim 2, the cap unit is provided with the connecting cylinder to which the change-over valve unit is attached in a posture tilted forward and downward. Since it is not necessary for this valve unit to have a functional portion for being attached to the cap unit in a tilted posture, use can be made of a combination of an existing change-over Valve unit with a sucking pipe as it is.
The means of carrying out the invention according to claim 3 comprises:
Having a vessel in which to contain a liquid;
Having a manual pump which is attached to the mouth of this vessel by way of an attaching cylinder and is used to suck up liquid through the sucking pipe and to discharge forcibly the liquid from the nozzle by the manual operation of the pump lever.
Having a cap unit which is attached to the lower portion of the attaching cylinder of this manual pump, and is provided with a liquid-flowing conduit cylinder linked to the manual pump;
Having a change-over valve unit which is attached to the cap unit from downside and is composed of a conduit pipe portion linked to the conduit cylinder of the cap unit, a bypass pipe portion having liquid intake slits in the bypass pipe wall and having a closed upper end and a valve seat at the lower end inside this bypass, and a base pipe portion at the bottom of this unit; with the liquid flow between the conduit pipe portion and the bypass pipe portion being cut off in the upright position of the vessel, and liquid being allowed to flow between these portions in the upside-down position, by the action of a spherical check valve provided inside the bypass pipe portion;
Setting up a vacuum control air channel by taking in outside air through a spot on the cylinder in a state in which the piston of the manual pump has moved to the inside of the cylinder, passing air into the vacant space inside the attaching cylinder of the manual pump, and supplying the vessel with air at the rear of the cap unit; and
Having at least three guide ribs of a vertical ridge shape disposed circumferentially around the inner surface of the bypass pipe portion having a larger bore diameter than the diameter of the check valve, in an arrangement that positions the check valve axially at the center of the bypass pipe portion.
The check valve is supported by the guide ribs so as to remain axially at the center of the bypass pipe portion. Therefore, this valve rolls along the ridges of the guide ribs, and takes the valve seat without being affected by the slope of the valve seat surface.
Even if the vessel is used in such a way that the bypass pipe portion is in a roughly horizontal lying position and that air is allowed to enter the bypass pipe portion through the liquid intake slits, the check valve quickly and securely sits on the valve seat due to a slight force acting on the valve (such as the force created by a negative pressure on the base pipe side), and prevents air from entering the base pipe portion by way of the bypass pipe portion.